Games Are Worth the Price Tag

This entry was posted on September 21, 2016 by admin.

It’s easy to visit a game store, pick up one of those colorful, inviting boxes, look at the price, gasp, and put it back down on the shelf. Quality tabletop games can cost anywhere from $25 to $80 depending on the pieces included, development time, and brand. But when you truly consider the numbers, not to mention the game’s social value, it becomes clear that, no matter what the price, games are worth it.

Compare the average price tag of a game to taking the family to a movie. An average game, lets say for 5 players, costs around $35. The average price of a movie for 5 people is $9. So just to get into the movie, you are out 45-bucks, more than the price of the game, and that doesn’t include the exorbitant theater concessions prices.

Even more, when you take your family to a movie, there is no social interaction. You might yak a little bit before and after the show. But a movie amounts to you and your family sitting in a dark room, looking at a big screen for 90-minutes.

When you roll out a game, it turns into quality family time. A good game means joking and laughing, chiding, and strategizing, generally enjoying one another’s company. Even better, once you finish playing, you put the game back in the box and on the shelf until next time you want to play. With a movie, you pay once to see it once. With a game, you pay once to play as many times as you like.

Lets get downright nerdy and take it even further. The average movie runs about 90 minutes. If you break it down, based on a 9-dollar ticket price, that comes to .10 cents a minute per person. Now, lets say you buy a great game and end up playing it 10 times before it goes to the dust-collecting part of your game closet. 10 plays at 45-minutes per play per player comes to 450 minutes of play. With a game price tag of $35 divided by the number of players (5) the per-player price of the game comes to an even 7-bucks. That $7 dollars, after 10 plays comes to .02 cents per minute of play. Here’s the per-minute breakdown:

Movie = .10 cents per minute of fun

Game = .02 cents per minute of fun

Movie = $6 per hour of fun

Game = .93 cents per hour of fun

The numbers don’t lie. When it comes to an evening of enjoyment, games are both the economical and quality-of-time choice. When it comes to spending your entertainment dollars, go for fun. Go for quality time. Go for gaming.